Takes a Little Trouble
by Silver-WindScar
Summary: Ed decides to go on vacation back to his hometown. The Colonel calls him to his office to give him another mission. Ed wishes THIS mission wasn't real as it could put his family in his hometown, Pinako and Winry, in very much danger. EdWin Status dunno


Takes a Little Trouble

Chapter…

DISCLAIMER: If I owned Fullmetal Alchemist or anything to do with it, I'd do a back-flip right here, right now. But I do own this story, so I'll settle for a little happy dance.

(--)

Okay, first off: this is AU!!! Woo-hoo! Can we see how happy I am? Er…_read_ how happy I am? So, if you've got questions, comments, or aggravations about anything I put in here – BRING 'EM ON!! I'll probably get annoyed anyway. Oh, Hughes is alive. I _hate_ the episode where he was killed!!! This is in no way, shape, or form affiliated with The Alchemists, the Elves, and the Magicals. Also, Winry is about half a year younger than Ed in this fic. O.o

By the way, if there's any misspellings, how about telling me, hmm?

Yeah, people, go ahead and freak out. I'm writing…typing a Fullmetal Alchemist story. It might just be a oneshot though, so don't get excited. :P I've only typed one other oneshot and ONE PERSON HAS READ IT!!! Grr… If you like Kingdom Hearts II, go read it. It's called "I'm Still Here."

(--)

(--)

(--)

An angry young man of seventeen was raging through the halls of one of the most important buildings in the city known as Central. Clanking noises were sounded as his younger brother followed him. _That bastard! He _knows_ I'm planning to go home for a little while! Why, oh _why_, does he have to summon me _now_ of all times for a stupid mission?!_ Edward Elric, the Fullmetal Alchemist, ranted in his mind. He had a few other choice words he wanted to say to the Colonel but, when he walked into the room, they were silenced by the look on the man's face.

"We've got a situation, Edward." The use of his name, more-so his full one, captured his attention. "I know you'd planned to return to Risenbul. You'd better hurry. An unwelcome guest has been seen heading in that direction," Roy Mustang, the Flame Alchemist, finished. His tone was serious enough to drown someone in the feeling.

"Who is it?" Alphonse Elric, Ed's younger brother, asked.

"Scar," Roy answered shortly. "You'd better get moving."

Ed was already out the door, no one even noticing his leaving except for the gust of wind left in his wake. His golden-amber eyes held a determined gaze and, to anyone who got in his way, an angry and frustrated inferno. "Get outta my way!" he shouted at someone who was standing in the doorway. As they ducked, Ed jumped over them. _Winry…Pinako… You two better be alright by the time I get there,_ he thought as he cleared the exit, the clanking of his brother directly behind him. His thoughts were more focused upon the former of the two names in his head as he and his brother purchased their train tickets and boarded the train.

"Calm down, Ed," Al said halfway through the ride. He was getting a little annoyed with the clanking of his elder brother's metal leg on the floor as he bobbed his leg in frustration. "We're going to get there and they'll be fine."

"I don't care, Al. I'll relax when I see that for myself," Ed replied, effectively ending the conversation for the rest of the trip. As soon as the train reached the station in the Elrics' hometown, the duo had all but shot from the building, racing down the path leading out of the town and into the outskirts. Seeing the Rockbells' home, Ed put on an extra burst of speed, sprinting up to the porch and all but running into the door. Banging his metal fist onto the door, the alchemist shouted, "Winry! Old lady Pinako! Are you there?! Answer the door!"

"STOP BEATING MY DOOR DOWN…pipsqueak…?" Pinako yelled, her voice dropping as she opened the door. "Who the hell are you? You're too tall to be Edward." That received a grin from the young man who had finally acquired a growth spurt. At seeing the form of the armored soul that was Alphonse, the elderly woman's eyebrows became lost in her hairline. "I guess you are Ed… Too bad… I can't pick on your height anymore, you frikkin giant."

The taller Fullmetal Alchemist grinned wider as he asked, "Where's Winry?" Pinako pointed to a door in the back of the room as Alphonse walked inside and into the kitchen, following the experienced automail mechanic. Ed walked over to the aforementioned door, gently rapping his knuckles against it. "Hey, Winry? Are you in there?"

"Ed?" she whispered, hardly daring to believe it was him. As she opened the door, she leaned down to hug the seventeen-year-old, not realizing that he'd grown. Instead, her face contacted with his chest near his neck. "Ed?! Wow! You're not a bean anymore!"

"Gee…thanks for pointing that out," he said sarcastically. She embraced him tightly, and he felt the shoulder of his clothing become damp. "Win? Winry…? What's wrong?" he asked, lifting her face from his shoulder. "Why are you crying?"

"Two reasons, Ed," she answered as he wiped the tears from her cheeks. "It's been so long since I've seen you…I thought you'd been hurt or worse. The other…I cry because you won't…"

"Winry-" he mumbled but was cut off by an explosion. He sent her a desperate look, hoping she understood, then reluctantly removed himself from her arms and ran out the door. He growled low in his throat as the Ishballan, also known as Scar, came out of the smoke created by the explosion.

"I was hoping you'd be here, Fullmetal. I don't like having to use hostages to draw out my opponents," he said, antagonizing the young man.

"I don't like people who try to draw me out; especially when I never did anything to them in the first place!" Ed yelled in reply, clapping his hands together and slamming them to the ground. His favorite transmutation, his spear, was drawn from the earth. "Something else: I really don't like YOU!" he added, calling the last part as he ran forward to strike at the Ishballan. _I can't let him get near me with that arm of his,_ he thought quickly, _I'm going to have to strike…NOW!_ He lunged forward after flipping to the left, his weapon's blade sliding along Scar's side.

"You're getting better – faster and stronger. Good. I'd like a good battle before you _die_," Scar said, slamming his charged fist into the ground. Earthen spikes shot out of the ground and toward the unsuspecting, airborne alchemist. Twisting awkwardly, the tip of the last stone weapon scraped his left leg, sending a few sparks from the limb. Scar smirked and said, "Don't slip up on me now, Fullmetal."

"Oh just shut up, will you?" Ed replied in irritation. Hearing clanks from behind him, he yelled, "No, Al! Scar can kill you easily! I won't let that happen!" A stone wall appeared in front of him to block another of Scar's attacks. "Stay back with Winry and Pinako!" The armored soul nodded and backed away as debris from Ed's wall of stone exploded toward the Fullmetal Alchemist. A piece of stone flew through the air by Ed's face, leaving a thin line of blood across his left cheek. "Bastard," he growled, slinging his metal fist forward to punch the man, forgetting about trying to stay away from his empowered arm.

"Bad move, Fullmetal," Scar informed as the dust cleared to reveal him holding the metal arm his right hand. Edward's pupils shrank to the size of a pencil tip before red light shone from the Ishballan's tattoos. Something akin to a scream echoed as the prosthetic limb was destroyed. "Here I thought you were getting better. Pitiful," he continued as his left fist impacted the alchemist's stomach. Ed grunted with a cough as the breath was driven from his lungs. Dropping the seventeen-year-old, Scar reached over and lifted his spear from the ground. "Hmm… Quite a handy weapon…if you can stay back from your opponent."

Ed hefted himself from the ground with effort as he held his shoulder that was throbbing in extreme pain. He cried out as the blade of what used to be his spear split a deep, wide cut in his right side. Gripping it with his left hand, he resolved to not let his pain overcome him. Using his only functional, luckily organic, bloody hand, Ed blocked Scar's left hook then jumped his sweep kick. The spear's blade slid across his left shoulder, leaving a clean slice within his skin. Letting off a stream of curse words that made Pinako's mouth unhinge, the alchemist found a piece of metal in the yard and quickly sketched a circle in the ground. Slapping his hand onto it, spikes lifted from the ground to block the Ishballan, also cutting across his torso. "Even bleeding, I'm doing better than you…" Ed taunted, wiping the edge of his mouth off. His glove was stained red.

"Ah, but you forget: I still have both of my arms," Scar replied evenly and easily as a crater opened beneath the elder Elric. He fell into it, landing on his back. Another scream ripped from his throat as Scar landed to his left, a glowing hand landing on his prosthetic leg and destroying it.

_At…least I…still have the…ports…_ he thought sarcastically, grunting painfully as he drew in a breath. Opening his eyes, all he could see was Scar's palm above his head. "Go…ahead…" he coughed, blood trailing from the corner of his mouth. "I've only…a few regrets…anyway…" He grinned weakly.

"What would those be? As a man of God, I am implored to listen to a dying person's regrets," Scar replied. He held his hand above the young man's face, saddened that he had to kill such a soulful and young person.

"Getting Al's…body back… Thanking…Pinako…and… Telling…Winry how much…I care for…her…" he answered before letting his eyes close in resignation. Just as Scar was about to pray for Ed and send him into the next world, a single-word exclamation stopped him.

"NO!" Ed's eyes snapped open. It was Winry's voice. Suddenly, pale blonde hair invaded his eyesight as Scar's hand was knocked away. He winced as Winry hugged his upper body, feeling his shoulders and side flaring in pain. "Please…" she whispered to the Ishballan. "Don't take him from us…" _From me,_ she added in her mind. "He…he's all Alphonse has of his blood family… Without Ed…life wouldn't be worth living…" she pleaded.

Scar looked in turmoil until he stood. "God wills for you to be spared this day, Fullmetal. Feel privileged that you have such a caring woman to throw herself in death's way for you." Turning around, he walked away.

"Thank you," Winry replied as tears wound their ways down her face. Scar looked at her from the corner of his eye, his ruby irises barely softening as he nodded before continuing his walking away.

"Winry… I…I need to…get…inside. I'm gonna…bleed to…death…if we don't…hurry," Ed whispered, his wounds sending agonizing flames licking at his skin and the tips of his nerves. He clenched his teeth together tightly as the stronger-than-normal, young woman helped him stand. "Thanks…"

"Anytime, Ed…anytime," she replied as she took his left arm and gently lifted it to wrap it around her shoulders to support him as he hopped more than limped to the house. Pinako had went ahead of them, leaving Alphonse to get Ed's other side. When they entered the house, they went straight to the couch, which Pinako had set up for the wounded alchemist. The elderly woman was holding a medic's kit, which was much more supplied than a normal First Aid kit.

After a gruesome half hour of treating the wounds in the Elric's left shoulder and right side, the young man was sleeping a little fitfully. Winry took his left, flesh hand in hers and pressed a soft kiss to the back of it. His head tossed from side to side as sweat dripped down from his forehead. "M-Mother… Al… No one…else…" he mumbled as his fingers gripped the mechanic's hand tightly. "No!" he shouted, bolting into a sitting position. "W-Winry? Wh…what…?"

"You were dreaming, Ed… What happened? You said, 'Mother,' 'Al,' and 'No one else.'" Her question caused him to lower his face as if he were ashamed. "Was it…was it from…_then_?" she asked and received a nod and a grimace. At the sound of a strangled, slight gasp from the young man, she circled her arms around him in a gentle hug. "Ed…it's okay to cry…"

"I-I tried…" he murmured as the shoulder of her shirt became wet with tears that he'd never let himself release. Wrapping his arm around her, he added, "I wanted…Mom back… We needed her… Al really did…he never knew Dad… He doesn't even remember him leaving. She was the only parent Al ever knew…" His voice cracked again, but he continued, "He…he asked me…at Mom's grave, 'Brother, what are we going to do?' I've never allowed myself to cry because I want to stay strong for Al…" he finished, burying his face in Winry's shoulder.

"Shh… Just let it all out," Winry whispered in his ear as she combed her fingers through his hair. He did as she said until his eyes were dry. "Feel better?" Ed nodded, smiling at her with a red face and red-rimmed eyes. She lay him back against the couch.

"Thanks, Win… I really needed that…" he said, letting his hand travel across her cheek before it fell against the couch.

(--)

The next day, it seemed, everything was back to normal. Ed was back to his immature-acting self, as Winry's wrench-induced lump on his head testified. "Stop hitting me with that damn wrench! Can't you see I'm injured?!" he yelled.

"Stop being an idiot! Yes, I can clearly see that you're injured 'cause I helped keep you still to patch you up!" Winry shouted in answer as she snapped the measuring tape in frustration, trying to take the measurements for another arm and leg. "Besides, how is it that you've grown and your automail fit perfectly?" Her eyes seemed to have a flame of anger behind them as she looked up at him, declaring, "You better not have gone to another automail mechanic."

"I-I… Never!" he replied, waving his arm frantically to dissuade any potential damage to his already hurting body. "I used alchemy! If…if you'd been able to see it, the automail had different colored pieces of metal!" She twitched the hand that was closest to her wrench, and Ed added, "I'd never have the ability to do that to you! You're my favorite mechanic!" A few seconds and a blush from the young woman allowed Ed to realize what he'd said, eliciting a blush of a much darker degree from himself.

"I…I'm your…favorite?" Winry asked, hope in her voice as she wrote down the measurements for his leg and gently moved his arm, careful of his shoulder. "D-do you mean that? …Really?"

"Y-yeah," he answered shyly and in a small voice, wincing when she lifted his arm and stretched the skin of his shoulder. "It's fine," he said to her worried gaze. "Don't worry about me. I've lived through worse." _Maybe I shouldn't have said that…_ he thought a little too late.

"What do you mean by 'worse'?" she asked, her movements ceasing.

"Nothing," he answered easily but didn't look her in the eye.

The girl gritted her teeth together before her wrench was thrown across the room, slamming into a metal desk on the far side. A loud clang echoed as Ed adopted a slightly frightened expression upon his face. "Don't lie to me!" she yelled – nearly screamed. The next thing Ed realized was that her face was buried in his bandaged, but otherwise bare, chest, and she was talking quietly. "I'll wait… I'll cry… I'll worry myself sick… But I won't accept you lying to me…" Her hand tightened its grip on his arm, and her nails were digging into the skin. "Don't…don't lie to me…"

"Winry, I…I lie to keep you safe. If I ever told you what was going on… You'd be targeted by the most foul beings in the world…" he replied with a sigh. "Do you know what a homunculus is?" He felt her nod against his chest. "That's what would be trying to kill you… Nearly seven of them…one for each of the seven deadly sins."

"What do you mean by 'nearly'?"

"I…killed…one of them," he answered hesitantly. Her grip tightened on his arm again but it loosened before her arms wrapped around him. "Winry?"

"Is that what has had you so…so…torn up?" she asked, looking up at him to see him nod with a downcast look. "I think you made it a bit better in the world for such a creature to be gone."

"It was not my place to decide whether he was to die or not, Win… Could you make a choice that would cause someone to live or die…knowing that if you made one, they'd live, and if you made the other one, they'd die?"

"No, Ed… I could never make that choice…not if I was _given_ the choice. You weren't, were you?" she asked after answering and, at the shake of his head, she smiled a bit before returning to her work, effectively ending the conversation.

"Damn," he hissed when she accidentally, while taking an odd measurement, pressed her arm into his side. She apologized profusely, but he only took her hand in his and gave it a gentle squeeze, communicating to her that she shouldn't worry about it. Nodding, she finished a minute later.

"It'll take me about three days, if I pull all-nighters, five if I only pull a couple," she informed, tapping her clipboard.

"Take your time and don't stress or overwork yourself. We don't have to leave for quite a while. I'm supposed to be on vacation," Ed replied and acquired a smile from the gifted, teenage woman before she disappeared into her workshop.

(--)

Three days passed quickly for the elder Elric as his wounds kept healing. He slept most of the time and only came out of the purposely-induced comas to talk to his brother, Winry, and Pinako and to eat whatever the elderly woman deemed would be good for his immune system and healing progress. He grimaced at the milk but drank it when she threatened to shove it, glass and all, down his throat. They realized _why_ he'd never drank it when he was vomiting for the next hour or so.

After that episode, he gladly fell back into the world of sleep. His dreams, which kept a small smile upon his face, were of a certain mechanic.

(--)

On the last and seventh day from when Winry had first disappeared into her workshop, she was sitting on the couch beside Edward with stars in her eyes as she described her latest achievement in automail technology. "It has sensors, so you can feel when someone is touching them. Also, they're lighter but stronger. It's a new alloy that we just got our hands on. You're the first person I've tested this on, so feel special-"

_Believe me, Winry – you don't know how special I really do feel,_ Ed's thoughts cut in before he started paying attention again. It was then that he noticed she'd stopped talking. He had also noticed that he'd had a soft, genuine smile on his face with a slightly-raised eyebrow. His face slipped into a shocked expression as he asked, "Did I say that out loud?"

"Yeah," she answered softly and quietly, "Yeah, you did." Ed gently wrapped his fingers around her wrist before pulling her to him, hugging her tightly. She circled her arms around him and asked, "Are you well enough for your new arm and leg?" He nodded in answer. "Tonight?"

"Nah… Do it now and get it over with," he replied with a light grin. Acquiescing to his answer, she went to fetch Pinako and Alphonse. The armored soul helped his brother across the living room and through the workshop's door. "Oh; I forgot to ask. Are all your upgrades gonna make it hurt any worse?" he asked of Winry. She only shrugged, her back facing him, as she easily lifted his arm. _I hope not…_was his only thought as the two mechanics set everything up.

"I want you to keep as still as possible, Ed," Pinako commanded, "If you move, I'll have Alphonse restrain you."

"But I don't want-"

"Shut up, idiot. He's clearly old enough and seen plenty of things to be able to stand seeing you in a bit of pain. Now," Pinako turned to the younger Elric. "I want _you_ to keep this moron from thrashing around like he did that first time. I don't want this going to the bad, you hear me, giant?" she asked, threatening Edward with a wrench before she settled the new leg into place as Winry set his arm.

"Are you ready?" the younger Rockbell asked softly and, at his nod, she counted down from three. At the last second, she and her grandmother attached both limbs into their respective ports on his body.

Ed's eyes snapped open wide as a strangled cry escaped his clenched teeth. Al held him from moving as the two women set other bolts and screws into their specific places. Other sharp, ripping sensations of pain tore through his body, forcing out other pain-filled sounds from him. As the very last two screws were tightened, one at his leg and the other at his arm, a silent scream was pulled from him.

When his brother fell limp, Alphonse released his hold on him. "Are…are you going to be all right?" he asked of his brother. The Fullmetal Alchemist gave a weak nod, sweat glistening on his face. "I…I know it hurts, Brother…but we're going to fix it," the armored, sixteen-year-old soul said, laying a leather palm on his sibling's left shoulder.

Winry went to the sink to get a clean washcloth from the cabinet above it as her grandmother and whom she considered a younger brother left into the main part of the house. Wetting the cloth, she used it to clean the sweat from Ed's skin as she spoke, "Me and Grandma added something else. We installed these sensors into the ports in your shoulder and leg. That way, it'll be as if they're real."

"Awesome," he replied in a strained voice. A red stain was coming into the bandages that were wrapped around his still-healing wounds. Winry noticed and started to gently remove them, having another set of wrappings ready. Getting a bowl of water to rinse her cloth out in, she wiped the blood away from his shoulder and side before checking them. "Are they…healing any…more?" he asked, hissing a bit when she dabbed them out with peroxide.

"Yeah, they're almost closed completely. You're a fast healer," she said softly and with a smile about her face. Finishing, she clipped the white cloth into place.

"I don't drink milk…so I drink orange juice instead. It's calcium-fortified, too…" he replied and earned a light laugh from her. Lying back and allowing his body to completely relax, Ed felt sleep coming to claim him. A final sentence escaped him, "I love you, Winry…I really do…" After that, his breathing evened out in slow, rhythmic, deep breaths.

Winry's face was shocked at what he'd said. _Did he… Did he really mean that? Or was he just saying it?_ she wondered, adding, _He usually says things without thinking and then tries to take them back… But this sounded genuine…_ Not really sure what to think, she put her tools and other things away before coming back over to him. Lifting a blanket over the now-cushioned bed and sleeping alchemist, she let it rest at his shoulders. Laying a hand to the side of his face, she said, "Sleep well, Ed." Unable to stop herself and not really wanting to do so, she leaned down and brushed her lips over his. "Softie," she whispered to him before leaving.

_She…kissed…me… YES!_ Ed shouted joyously in his mind before ceasing his act and actually falling into sleep.

(--)

The next day, Ed was up and around, dodging all of Winry's wrenches and Alphonse's attempts to make him lie back down. He had figured it'd be about a day and a half or less before his side and shoulder were completely healed. But that wasn't his current problem. He suddenly found himself on the couch with Winry on top of him after she'd screamed like something possessed her.

"REST, Ed! You happen to still need it!" she reprimanded. As if just realizing her position, she blushed an uncountable amount of shades of red. She lifted herself from the alchemist, or would have if he hadn't stopped her. "W-what are you…?" she asked, her question dying off as he propped himself into a sitting position.

"I was awake," he whispered into her ear.

She bit her lip unnoticeably before saying, "What are you talking about, Ed? Of course you were awake!" He grinned at her self-defense, causing her to gulp slightly. "Honestly, Ed… I have no idea-"

"I think you know exactly what I'm talking about," he said, cutting her off. She bit her lip again. "Do you want me to tell you what happened? Or would you rather I _show_ you?"

"Show me? What are you… Make some sense!" she answered, furrowing her eyebrows together. She was trying her hardest to cover up for having kissed him the day before and she was thinking that she was failing.

"You really don't know?" he asked, his eyebrows coming together in confusion. She shook her head slowly. _She's worried about my reaction… Well, I haven't pushed her away; that should be a positive thing!_ he figured then said, "Yes, you do. You're worried about what I'll do."

"Ed-" she was starting to say, trying to dissuade him from the topic, but he had cut her off with a finger over her lips.

"Don't do that, Winry." His voice was stern and his eyes were hard. "You kissed me last night," he said softly, his eyes seeming to melt into liquid gold. With a smile, he said, "I wouldn't mind if you did it again." A blush lit her face while he used a long-nurtured practice of schooling his features to hide his own reaction.

"Ed, I… I'm sorry…" she whispered, looking away from him. "I invaded your personal space… That's wrong on so many levels."

"Then let me make it two wrongs." At Ed's words, Winry snapped her head up to face him. Her eyes opened in surprise when she felt his soft lips contact her own before slowly closing to savor the feeling. "Should we make it three?"

She smiled at him before answering with, "Yeah. We should."

(--)

(--)

(--)

Okay, if you all want this to be made a story or want another chapter to continue where this one left off, let me know. If not, I'll probably, MAYBE, add _one_ more chapter because this ending will eat away at me until I change it.

So, if you so kindly would, please click that little purple button at the center-left side of the screen right down _there_. Thanks. :P


End file.
